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yesterday i went to my FIRST LGBT event that was in the “real world” off-campus.

and it was at a church. an all-inclusive LGBT welcoming church, mind you.

i missed the very beginning, that included the reading of the names of trans individuals who have been killed this past year just for being trans.

A number that includes 265 trans individuals.

so the trans community is a minority WITHIN a minority community; and having a few hundred deaths for such a group, to me, sounds like an extremely high number and unacceptable.

then take into account: the suicides, suicide attempts, depression, and violence against trans people that are not included.

There were so many trans people of varying backgrounds, allies, and genderqueer people inside the church; a certain beauty in diversity of so many people coming together to show their support and compassion. And then the undertone message of hope.

I mean there was a trans guy who in the past struggled with depression, whose family still cannot accept him and yet he’s found another family in the community and that of his girlfriend’s.

I’m not sure how anyone can get past the disproval of a parent…it just seems that despite all of the hatred/ignorance/misunderstanding aimed at the trans community, there is strong sense of self and survival. Which in the past, I was told that in hardships that can be the only response, but I know that it’s not a given and just a testament to the human spirit.

Going to this event was so important to me because it reminds me of the individuals being affected and how much work there needs to be done. And that maybe I can do something.

I’m a shy introverted person, so becoming an activist and being/ becoming an ally to trans people is taking me out of my comfort zone, but completely necessary and totally worth any discomfort.